I was refuelling in
Cooktown and started up a conversation for a short moment with the bloke on the other side of the bowser. Turned out his name was Des
Bowen and he is the Tradional Owner of Starcke
Homestead, en route to
Cape Melville, FNQ. He said that we should come and visit the place and I said that I would, as soon as we returned from our
Cape York odyssey. And so, about six weeks later we rocked up at Starcke.
Desi was away at the time, but his wife Estelle directed us to a shelter atop the
hill overlooking the distant sand dunes of Cape Flattery to the east and Mt Webb National Park to the west. So we drove to our destination about a kilometre east of the
homestead and found a wind shelter and a
water tank and this was to be our abode for the next week. The
camp is right next to a rainforest pocket and there is plenty of firewood at ones disposal.
As with all things in life there is a cost to it and when the Bowens came over in the late afternoon I asked how much they were asking. Desi’s words were, “We normally charge $100……………..but then you can stay for as long as you like!” It sounded like a good deal. We figured that it was a fair price for a week’s stay and after the cluster camping experience of Elim Beach, this was a welcome relief to have the whole place to ourselves. Stay two weeks and the daily rate drops to half and so on :-) There are two shelters at the present time and they are about 100 metres apart. This part of the
Bowen’s enterprise is still in its developmental stage and is not
well advertised but word of mouth gets around and it is popular at times. It is great for a base to safely leave your
camp and explore, hunt or fish the coast or rivers in the vicinity. However, you need to be self-contained with your own
toilet, shower and power.
The
Cook Shire has been upgrading roads in the area and the road from Battlecamp Road to Starcke River Mouth turnoff is in its final completion. It is a good hard base road but there are still some sharp dips which could bring you unstuck if you take your eye off the ball. At the river mouth there is now a brand new concrete
boat ramp and there is still a sandy track to the surf beach, if you can call it that. It is very popular with local fishermen on weekends.
Beyond the Starcke River Mouth turnoff, the road deteriorates to a very bumpy track and by all accounts gets worse the further north you venture. We drove as far as Starcke
River Crossing this time, with the promise of going further north next year when we visit these tropical regions again.
Cheers
Spero